PHOTO GALLERY

EL CAJON  A pilot was rescued from his upside-down plane after it crashed Wednesday morning into overhead trolley cables about 300 feet from the Gillespie Field runway, and a transit spokesman said service between Santee and El Cajon was expected to be out through Thursday while repairs are made.

The pilot, a 79-year-old Del Mar resident, suffered nonlife-threatening injuries to both arms and was taken to a hospital, said El Cajon police Lt. Jeff Davis. His name was not yet released.

The plane was a single-engine SportCruiser, said Ian Gregor, spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration.

The pilot, who was the sole occupant, was trapped inside after the plane crashed about 10:30 a.m. in the northbound lanes of Cuyamaca Street at Prospect Avenue near the west end of the runway. No one on the ground was injured, Gregor said.

The pilot complained of numbness in his left arm and an injury to his right hand, said El Cajon police Lt. Mark Coit. He was conscious and talking to rescuers, who had to wait to extricate him until power to the trolley lines was shut down.

Shortly after departing from Gillespie, the pilot told the tower he needed to return due to a problem with the plane’s canopy, Gregor said. The canopy is the transparent enclosure over the cockpit.

When the pilot was on final approach back to Gillespie, the canopy appeared to come off the plane, Gregor said.

The plane clipped the overhead electrical cables for the trolley and flipped.

The downed trolley wires ignited a small brush fire along the fence bordering the airport, Davis said. It was quickly extinguished by firefighters from El Cajon and Santee.

Pat Uhart, who was working in a medical and insurance building at Cuyamaca Street and Prospect Avenue, saw the plane pass by at a low altitude. She said the pilot tried to pull the plane back up, but the rear of the aircraft hit the trolley cables.

“If the trolley would have been approaching, it could’ve been a major disaster,” Uhart said.

A San Diego Gas & Electric spokeswoman said the plane did not clip power lines and no utility customers lost service.

Rob Schupp, a spokesman for the Metropolitan Transit System, said it could take several days for repairs to be made to the trolley line because of specialized parts that are needed.

“Unfortunately it took down some of the arms that hold up the electrical wire that feeds the trolley power,” he said.

On Wednesday afternoon, Green Line trains were turning back at the Arnele Station and Orange Line trains were turning back at the El Cajon Transit Center. Passengers going to or leaving from the closed stations were being transported on buses.